Ayodele Oyewole

If your energy's provided by one of the Big 6 (Brit Gas, E.on, EDF, Npower, SSE or Scot Power), this is a no-brainer moment for action. Most of them have cut prices, but only on a DON'T ASK, DON'T GET basis (though you can't usually ask the firms directly, it has to be via a comparison site).

And staggeringly, I was about to say that makes the new British Gas tariff the market's cheapest fix... then, stop press, just before we sent this email Scottish Power undercut it a tad. It's all a result of wholesale energy prices (that energy firms pay) dropping in the last couple of weeks. Rates are changing rapidly, but who knows how long they'll stay this cheap.

Do nowt, and you'll likely be stuck on their bog-standard, expensive, 'price cap rate' tariffs, which won't change until next March, meaning you'll overpay by £100s during the heavy-use winter period. So carpe diem (ie, get your backside in gear). Here are three options:

1. Switch to the very cheapest. Do a 5min whole of market comparison.
2. Switch to a name you know. Scroll through the cheapest big names below.
3. Don't want to switch? MAKE your current provider charge you less. Grab its cheapest tariff, which the team detail below...

All tariffs apply to Eng, Scot & Wales (not NI) energy users paying by direct debit or on receipt of a bill (ie, not prepay). The savings are compared to someone with typical dual-fuel use on that firm's standard tariff (that's an avg £1,178/yr).

Links go via our comparison - as your cheapest can vary by usage and location, so you get a personal price, saving and cashback where poss (plus it updates with price changes). Here are the deals in alphabetical order...

1. BRITISH GAS (incl existing custs) - SAVE £305 compared to its standard rate (and go green). The new British Gas Energy & Boiler Cover Green Nov2020v4 is a 1yr fixed-rate deal (so no price hikes for that time) at £872/yr on typical usage, including £25 MSE cashback. It's only available via comparison sites, such as via our link (which also gets you the extra cashback).

This is a serious powerplay by BG, its cheapest tariff since Nov 2016. You also get a year's 'free' boiler insurance (it auto-renews after a year, so cancel then if you don't want it).

MSE customer service score: 40% great, 27% OK (200 votes).
Fixed? Until 30 Nov 2020, so the rate won't change (though cost depends on usage).
Renewable? 100% renewable electricity, 100% carbon offset gas.
MSE cashback? Yes, for new and existing custs.
Dual-fuel only? Yes, you must get both gas & electricity.
Early exit fees? £60 if you leave more than 49 days before fix ends.
Will existing custs switching to it be charged exit fees? No.
Payment: Monthly direct debit is cheapest, but avail other ways.
Smart meters: If you don't have 'em, you must get 'em installed (one for gas, one for elec) within 3mths to stay on this tariff.

2. E.ON new custs save £297/yr, existing custs £188/yr . The cheapest E.on deal is its Fix Online Exclusive v15 , but that's ONLY for new custs. It's a 1year fix at £880/yr on typical use, including MSE cashback.

Its cheapest deal for existing customers is its Fix Online v32, which is far more expensive at a typical £989/yr, though that's still far cheaper than its standard tariff. You can only get it direct, but you'll see how it stacks up via a comparison site.

MSE customer service score: 32% great, 33% OK (217 votes).
Fixed? Both for 1yr, so the rate won't change (but cost depends on use).
Renewable? 100% renewable electricity, not green gas.
MSE cashback? For new custs only.
Dual-fuel only? No. It can be dual-fuel or elec-only (incl Eco 7).
Early exit fees? £30/fuel.
Will existing custs switching to it be charged exit fees? No.
Payment: Monthly direct debit only.
Smart meters: If you don't have 'em, you must get 'em installed (one for gas, one for elec) within 3mths or you'll be moved to its standard tariff.

3. EDF (incl existing custs) - SAVE a typical £265/yr on its standard rate. The EDF Simply Online 1 Year Fix Nov20v6 is fixed for year at £912/yr on typical use, including MSE cashback. You can't get it direct though, only via comparison sites, such as via our link (which also gets you the extra cashback).

MSE customer service score: 40% great, 34% OK (247 votes).
Fixed? Till 30 Nov 2020, so the rate won't change (but cost depends on use).
Renewable? No.
MSE cashback? Yes, for new and existing custs.
Dual-fuel only? No. It can be dual-fuel or elec-only (incl Eco 7).
Early exit fees? £35/fuel.
Will existing custs switching to it be charged exit fees? Yes, unless you're on its standard tariff or a fix that ends in less than 3mths.
Payment: Monthly direct debit only.
Smart meters: If you don't have 'em, you must get 'em installed (one for gas, one for elec) within 3mths or you'll be moved to its standard tariff AND have to pay exit fees of £35 per fuel.

4. NPOWER (incl existing custs) - SAVE a typical £64/yr on its standard rate. The Npower Price Fix January 2021 is fixed for just over 1yr for £1,114/yr on typical use, including MSE cashback. This is a saving, but not a big one, so have a think about whether you should be switching firm, even to another big 6.

While you can get this direct, go via our comparison link and you get the extra £25 dual-fuel cashback.

MSE customer service score: 25% great, 39% OK (108 votes).
Fixed? Till 31 Jan 2021, so the rate won't change (but cost depends on use).
Renewable? No.
MSE cashback? Yes, for new and existing customers only.
Dual-fuel only? No. It can be dual-fuel or single-fuel (incl Eco 7).
Early exit fees? £30/fuel.
Will existing custs switching to it be charged exit fees? No for most (full info via link).
Payment: Monthly direct debit is cheapest, but avail other ways.
Smart meters: If you don't have 'em, you must get 'em installed (one for gas, one for elec) within 4mths or you'll be moved to its standard tariff.

5. SCOTTISH POWER (incl existing custs) - SAVE a typical £308/yr on its standard rate. Scottish Power was lying in 2nd place until late Tue night, when it repriced its Super Saver November 2020 tariff to undercut British Gas. It's fixed for a year at £870/yr on typical use, including £25 MSE cashback.

You can't get it direct though, only via comparison sites, like our link (which also gets you the cashback). Be warned, its customer service rating is poor, even for a Big 6.

MSE customer service score: 18% great, 27% OK (198 votes).
Fixed? Till 30 Nov 2020, so the rate won't change (but cost depends on use).
Renewable? 100% renewable electricity. Not green gas.
MSE cashback? Yes, for new and existing custs.
Dual-fuel only? No. It can be dual-fuel or elec-only (incl Eco 7).
Early exit fees? £30/fuel.
Will existing custs switching to it be charged exit fees? No.
Payment: Monthly direct debit is cheapest, but avail other ways.
Smart meters: If you don't have 'em, you must get 'em installed (one for gas, one for elec) within 3mths or you'll be moved to its standard tariff.

6. SSE (incl existing custs) - SAVE a typical £39/yr on its standard rate. The SSE 1 Year Fix Paperless is fixed for 1yr at £1,139/yr based on typical use, including MSE cashback. There is a cheaper tariff for new custs only, but it's not worth highlighting as others are much cheaper.

The saving is likely so small because SSE is currently being bought by Ovo, so it's in a state of flux. While the fixed price is locked in regardless, it is worth looking at switching to another firm to make bigger savings.

If you do want this tariff, while you can get this direct, go via our comparison link and you get the extra £25 dual-fuel cashback.

MSE customer service score: 34% great, 33% OK (83 votes).
Fixed? For 1yr, so the rate won't change (but cost depends on use).
Renewable? No.
MSE cashback? Yes, for new and existing custs.
Dual-fuel only? No. It can be dual-fuel or single-fuel (incl Eco 7).
Early exit fees? No.
Will existing custs switching to it be charged exit fees? No for most (full info via link).
Payment: Monthly direct debit is cheapest, but avail other ways.
Smart meters: Not needed.

Here's a quick Q&A - for more, see the full Cheap Energy Club FAQs.

Q. Is switching risky? Could I be cut off? No. It's the same gas, same electricity and same safety. The key thing that changes is the price and the service if you switch provider. Though many of the top deals now require smart meters, so if you don't have them already, someone may have to visit your home. See our Switching FAQs .

Q. I live in Northern Ireland. Can I get these deals? Unfortunately not. No UK comparisons include NI, but see Cheap NI Electricity or the Consumer Council for Northern Ireland's tool.

Q. Does MSE make money from this? Yes. Like all energy comparison sites, we're paid each time you switch through us, yet we give you roughly half (that's £25 dual-fuel, £12.50 single-fuel cashback).

This is money you wouldn't get if you went direct, so it's a win-win. The rest helps cover our costs and hopefully makes us some profit.

Q. How green is green? It's complicated. We explain the difference between the various renewable options in our Green energy explainer.

We've lots more help, incl...

DON'T believe the fake ads on Facebook
Lots of scam ads that litter social media lie that we or Martin promote Bitcoin, binary trading etc. See Fake ads warning.

From Mon, Nationwide's charging a shocking 40% interest on overdrafts & regulation changes mean others will likely follow. ACT NOW to beat it.

Overdrafts are a debt, plain and simple, though many don't think of it as such. From Mon, Nationwide's standard overdraft charge will be a shocking 39.9%, double a typical credit card. It currently charges 50p/day, so for those with overdrafts under £500ish it's getting cheaper, but owe more and you'll pay more. It's made this change as the regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, wants transparency, meaning that by April, banks must charges interest on overdrafts, not fees. While we doubt Nationwide will be more expensive than others when they change, the wider overhaul will shine a light on these expensive debts. So if you're overdrawn, sort it NOW...

Switch to a 0% overdraft. A few banks have decent overdraft offers for newbies, though you will be credit checked when you apply. Full info in top overdrafts, but in brief...

- First Direct, free £50 and £250 0% overdraft. First Direct* newbies accepted for an overdraft can get £250 at 0%, AND if you switch to it and pay in £1,000+ within 3mths (eg, your salary) you get a free £50. It's a clear winner for those with overdrafts that rarely go over £300, as the £50 clears some debt then the rest is interest-free. For overdrafts over £250, you'll pay 15.9% EAR variable interest.

- Not a Nationwide FlexDirect customer - it could give you a LARGER 0% overdraft, but only for a year. New Nationwide FlexDirect* account holders (so FlexAccount or FlexPlus account holders can apply) can get a 0% overdraft for a year, then the 39.9% APR/EAR variable after. There's no set limit as it depends on your credit score, but in the past we've seen some large amounts, such as Ben's: "Nationwide matched my overdraft - £1,400. Saved a fortune while clearing my debt."

- Low standard rate. App-based Starling Bank* offers a low-ish standard overdraft rate of 15% EAR variable, far less than Nationwide's, though the limit you get is of course credit score dependent. It also has funky spending insight tools.
Shift your overdraft to a special 0% credit card - good for bigger overdrafts. A few 0% cards offer Money Transfers that simply mean they pay cash directly into your bank account, and then you owe the card instead, but at 0%. So you could use these to clear your overdraft for a one-off fee of 2%-4% of the amount shifted. You have to do it right though, so read our full best buys and instructions via the link above.
Overdraft cost-cutting tips. It's not just making it cheaper, you need to manage your overdraft.
- Try to repay a fixed amount each month. Treat it like any other debt that needs paying off. For example, if you're £500 overdrawn, 'paying' £100 means next month you aim to be £400 overdrawn. Doing a budget will help.
- Consider moving direct debits to just before payday. The idea is you're overdrawn for less time, so costs are lower.
- Got savings? Don't be afraid to use them to clear your overdraft. See Repay Debt with Savings?
- Struggle to control spending? Consider shifting to a non-overdraft account. See Basic Bank Accounts.
- Prioritise paying off the most expensive debt first. As these are growing most quickly, see which debts to pay first.
- Can you reclaim past bank charges? If charges caused hardship, you may be able to reclaim them.
- Struggle to meet minimum repayments? Get non-profit debt counselling help from Citizens Advice, National Debtline or StepChange. It can make a huge difference. Full info in Debt Help.

PS: If you're a Nationwide customer, read full info on Nationwide's overdraft changes.

Lidl £10 off £40 spend. Voucher in newspapers this Fri, Sat & Sun. Lidl voucher

Ends Thu. Virgin 108Mb MEGA-fast fibre broadband-ONLY - '£18/mth.' MSE Blagged. Our headline deal from last week ends Thursday, and it's the cheapest EVER deal we've seen for fast fibre b'band-only (ie, with no phone line) - great if, like many, you don't use a landline. Via this link only, Virgin Media newbies pay £24/mth, but a £75 bill credit means it's £213 over the 1yr contract, equiv to £17.75/mth. Only 50% of homes qualify and you can check eligibility via the link. For more options, see our Broadband Unbundled tool.

30 tips to be tight (in a good way)... eg, bulldog clips to eke out the last of the toothpaste. Tips and tricks from us and our MSE Forumites to 'make every penny count'. 30 household hacks.

Super-cheap Easyjet flights for Sept/Oct 2020. But you'll need to go quick. Easyjet

New. Martin's 'Repaying your student loan? Should you repay more quickly?' blog. With student loans ALL ISN'T AS IT SEEMS, so whether you've a Plan 1, Plan 2, mortgage-style loan or even a combination, Martin's new quick read Should I overpay my student loan? blog takes you through it.

The MSE Leaders' Debate 2019 - what do you want to ask Bartley/Berry, Corbyn, Farage, Johnson, Price, Sturgeon and Swinson? For each of the last three general elections, we've asked all the main party leaders to answer key consumer finance policy questions - incl on mortgages, mental health and student finance. We're aiming to do the same for this 12 Dec election, so please suggest money/consumer questions to put to party leaders. To see what it's about, view the 2017 MSE Leaders' Debate.

BLAGGED FOR MSE

- Virgin 108Mb fast fibre broadband '£18/mth' Ends Thu
- Two pairs of specs for £14 delivered Ends Mon
- Get £50 cashback for investing £500 1,000 avail
- Karen Millen 40% off everything code Ends Sun
- £1 for 1mth gym membership & PT session Ends Tue 19 Nov

DID YOU MISS?

- Tesco's £8/mth Clubcard Plus to launch - is it any good?
- Confirmed: Nectar 'double-up' at Sainsbury's
- Warning to anyone 16+ who's never owned a home
- When will your student loan be wiped?

'Why do travel insurers think all over-65s are at death's door?'

Anne got in touch to say she'd done the work we suggest and had finally got a reasonable policy, SAVING £500

There's no one-stop solution, but usually a little bit of time spent following our Over-65s' Travel Insurance guide can help you really bring the price down. An email we received from Anne this week explains that better than we can. PS: It's also worth checking our Pre-Existing Medical Conditions Travel Insurance and under-65s' Cheap Travel Insurance guides too. Here's MoneySaver Anne's email...

From: Anne
Sent: 03 November 2019 13:32
To: successes@moneysavingexpert.com
Subject: Over 65s Travel Insurance

Thank you MSE Team. You've just saved me over £500 on my annual travel insurance.

I will be 70 in November and enjoy spending our winter months in sunny Melbourne with my daughter and her family. I am in good health although I take two tablets daily to control my blood pressure, which most insurers accept.

I stay with family most of the time and I'm not inclined to high risk activity. It seems though that most of them think over-65s are at death's door and going away for more than two weeks is high risk.

However thanks to your website information and articles I found annual insurance, with trips up to 90 days, for at least £70 cheaper than a single trip cover, and over £500 cheaper than the cheapest annual insurance I had been quoted by several other companies.

I got insurance for a sensible £237 cost with no excess (I paid the £37 for that) so well done MoneySavingExpert. Thank you.

New. Shift debt to 25mths 0% (1% fee) and get £20 cashback. This new Halifax (eligibility calc / apply*) balance transfer credit card allows you to shift debt for 25mths at 0% for a 1% fee of the amount transferred. Plus if you shift £1k+ within 90 days, you get £20 cashback (19.9% rep APR after). Full info, incl what you get if your credit score's not good enough for this card, in Balance Transfer Credit Cards.

TWO pairs of specs for £14 delivered. MSE Blagged. The lowest price we've seen for this Glasses Direct deal.

Get £50 cashback for investing £500. MSE Blagged. If you plan to 'robo-invest' - where investments are selected for you based on your attitude to risk - this Evestor deal is equiv to a 9.5% head start after fees if you took the money after 12mths (the earliest you can). It's available to the first 1,000 new customers who open a Stocks & Shares ISA and set up a direct debit for at least £100 by 12 Nov. See Robo-investing cashback.

Free letters from Santa, incl in Braille. Send kids' wishlists to Royal Mail's elves before the deadline to receive a free reply from the big man. Santa letters

Karen Millen 40% off everything. MSE Blagged. Online via code till Sun. £4 del. Karen Millen

£1 for 1mth gym membership, incl free 1hr personal training session. MSE Blagged. No contract or joining fee, but £15+/mth thereafter. Xercise4Less

Tell your friends about us

They can get this email free every week

AT A GLANCE BEST BUYS

Longest 0%: Virgin Money* 29mths 0%, 3% fee (21.9% rep APR)
No-fee 0%: NatWest / RBS 23mths 0% - existing custs only but there's a trick for others (19.9% rep APR)

Get comparison site quotes in this order:

Then check insurers they miss:
Direct Line*
Aviva*

Cheapest for £5,000-£7,499: Admiral* 3.4% rep APR
Cheapest £7.5k-£15k: M&S Bank* 2.9% rep APR

Standard b'band & line rent: Shell Energy equiv £10.74/mth
Fibre b'band & line rent: Post Office equiv £18.74/mth

Get £175 to switch: HSBC Advance
£150 to switch + 2% cashback: NatWest Reward

Top easy access: Coventry BS 1.46%, min £1
Top one-year fix: Metro Bank 1.8%, min £500

How the election can boost your Christmas coffers... and 60+ more ways to up your income

There's a sack-ful of ways to make extra cash, so let us drop a few down your chimney

This is a high-spend period of the year for many, so a little extra cash is always a bonus (though as Martin says, don't spend on unnecessary presents). There are over 60 achievable earners in our ever-popular Boost Your Income guide, but here we've focused on a few that can work before Christmas. You may not always get the money in time for the big day, but as long as you know it's coming soon after, it still helps alleviate the pressure.

New. How to let the election boost your Christmas coffers... Don't worry, this isn't about who to vote for. The first December election in almost 100 years will happen on the 12th, and there are one-off jobs for it. Earn from £9/hr+ as a vote counter, or £135/day+ as a clerk. Many councils have posts available. To find out if you can do it, see General election jobs.
Make extra cash playing Santa. The real one has a lot on in December, so if you're good with children (& pass background checks), you can earn £8/hr+ working shifts as Santa, one of his helpers or a grotto manager. You can start working this month and one of the biggest operators told us it pays fortnightly. Ker-jingle bells
Grab £50 in high street retail vouchers for using a rewards credit card. If you're accepted for the Amex Gold (eligibility calc / apply* ) and spend £3,000 on it in the first 3mths, you can get points worth £50 in vchs (plus you get two free airport lounge passes a year and ongoing rewards). Just use it for all your normal, budgeted-for spending if you'll hit the trigger (so it's really for those larger spenders).

The card's fee-free for the first year but costs £140/yr after, so cancel before then if you don't want it. Pay it off IN FULL each month to avoid 22.9% interest (57.6% rep APR, incl fee) interest, which will dwarf the gains. See Credit Card Rewards for full info & other options.
Walk round your home and sell what you've not used since last Christmas. We all own stuff we never use, so do a stocktake. Haven't used it since last December? Then consider flogging it and you should get the proceeds before Christmas. See our 40+ eBay & Second-Hand Selling Tips and 20+ Facebook Selling Tips. You can even Flog your rubbish for cash - eg, loo roll tubes for up to 14p, shirt buttons for up to £4.95.
Get Amazon vouchers for snapping job ads. Using a free app you can grab vchs simply by taking photos of job ads you spot in windows etc. There's no min payout and they arrive within two weeks - often sooner. MSE Sarah's a fan: "I've earned more than £1,000 in just over a year, spotting ads in my lunch hour." Job spotting

2mths' Sky Sports on a mobile for £2. MSE Blagged. Via Sky's Now TV streaming service. Sky Sports

SUCCESS OF THE WEEK:
"I cancelled and then rebooked my holiday and got it for £114 cheaper. Well worth checking. Thanks for your hotel rebooking trick."
(Send us yours on this or any topic.)

CAMPAIGN OF THE WEEK

Time to scrap 8-week ombudsman rule and drag it into 21st Century. Ombudsmen are a last line of defence when you complain to banks, energy firms and others. Yet to get one to look at your case you usually have to wait eight weeks from filing your complaint (unless the firm rejects it sooner), which we believe is far too long. Now our Justice Delayed report has presented new research backing that up - we found 89% of people believe the wait should be four weeks max. See full info on our MSE ombudsman report.

THIS WEEK'S POLL

Should the higher 40% tax band start at £50,000? Taxpayers in England/Wales/N Ireland pay higher-rate income tax on earnings between £50,000 and £150,000 (it's slightly different in Scotland). While there are a huge number of variables, if you could only move the 40% band (41% in Scot), where would you place it? Should the higher 40% tax band start at £50,000?

More than 26,000 of you took our life skills test. Last week, we asked how many 21st century life skills you have - from wiring a plug to unblocking a drain. Being able to read an energy meter was the most common skill, with 94% of MoneySavers confident they could do it. Yet just 49% said they could Photoshop a picture and 63% perform CPR. See the full poll results.

MONEYSAVING NEWS

- Top story: Mothercare goes into administration - what you need to know
- Drone owner? You must register by the end of the month to avoid an up to £1,000 fine
- Apple's TV streaming service goes live
- Lloyds Trustcard customers only have weeks to spend their points ahead of reward shake-up
- Up to 2,000 Thomas Cook customers haven't received direct debit refunds - here's what you need to know

MONEY MORAL DILEMMA

Should my parents have a say in our wedding plans if they're paying? I'm getting married this year and my parents have given us a big chunk of money to spend on the wedding. They're now insisting on having certain things I wouldn't otherwise choose to have on the day. As it's their money, do I have to agree? Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should my parents have a say in our wedding plans if they're paying? | Suggest an MMD | View past MMDs

THE QUICKIES

- Debt-Free Wannabe chat of the week: Beware the December pay trap
- Competitions thread of the week: Win a trip for two to see the northern lights
- Old-Style board thread of the week: Creating a family hamper as a Christmas present
- Family, marriage, relationships chat: Party bag ideas that are frugal, eco-friendly and fun
- Discussion of the week: Missed our Instagram Live? Catch up here: What do you put in your reusable Advent calendars?

Lidl - £10 voucher off £40 spend
Glasses Direct - Two pairs for £14 delivered
Santa letter - Get a free reply, incl in Braille
Karen Millen - 40% off everything code
Xercise4Less - £1 for 1mth gym membership

Cafe Rouge - 40% off food voucher (excl Sat)
Leon - Free 'Little Box' meal daily after 5pm
Nando's hacks - Eg, get £5 off a meal for two
Subway - Savers menu from 99p
Ikea - Free cup of tea or coffee

Now TV - £2 for 2mth Sky Sports Mobile Pass
Contact lenses - 20% off dailies via code
Lego - Free in-store 'Mini Build' (Thu only)
The Works - £10 for 10 kids' books
Ideal Home Show - Two tickets for £15

Tesco half-price gift sets. Let's go Tesco
Debenhams up to 30% off. Deb-initely worth a look
Free Bear Yoyo fruit snack. Tasty

MARTIN'S BLOG

- Should I overpay my student loan?

MSE TEAM BLOG

- 30 MoneySaving household hacks

MARTIN'S APPEARANCES (WED 6 NOV ONWARDS)

Thu 7 Nov - Good Morning Britain, ITV, 7.35am
Fri 8 Nov - This Morning, ITV, from 10.30am
Mon 11 Nov - This Morning, ITV, from 10.30am
Mon 11 Nov - BBC Radio 5 Live, Lunch Money Martin, 12.20pm. Listen again

MSE TEAM APPEARANCES (MOST SUBJECTS TBC)

Wed 6 Nov - BBC Radio Cumbria, Money Talks with Ben Maeder, from 6pm, Steve Nowottny
Fri 8 Nov - BBC South West stations, Good Morning with Joe Lemer, from 5am, Guy Anker
Mon 11 Nov - TalkRadio, Breakfast with Julia Hartley-Brewer, 9.45am, Oli Townsend
Tue 12 Nov - BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, Lunchtime Live with Jeremy Sallis, 2.20pm

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Q: I checked my credit score and it's down - it looks like there's an error on my credit report. How do I correct inaccurate info? Kim, via email.

MSE Kit's A: Unfair or inaccurate info can be on your credit file for many reasons, including errors on the part of lenders or credit reference agencies, or even ID fraud. You need to dispute it as it may block applications. First, contact the credit reference agency to see if a simple clerical error has been made - if so, it should be able to amend it.

If your lender is to blame, then contact it and explain why the information is incorrect, making it clear you want it removed. You can take your case to the Financial Ombudsman if it isn't resolved. As a last resort, you can add a notice of correction to your credit file. It'll slow future applications down, but it's much better than being rejected due to a mistake on your file. See full help in How to fight an error on your file, and make sure you check your file regularly - see how to do it for free.

Please suggest a question of the week (we can't reply to individual emails).

HOLIDAY ADVERTS ARE COMING...

That's all for this week, but before we go... it's only early November but Christmas TV ads are already in full swing, with big names such as Amazon, Argos and Asda having just launched theirs. So we've been asking MoneySavers what they reckon is the best-ever Christmas TV ad. Various John Lewis ads were popular, while several argued it's the annual arrival of the iconic Coca-Cola trucks which marks the official start of the Christmas season. Others though said their favourite ad was simply "any that isn't shown until December". Join the debate on our Favourite Christmas advert? Facebook post.

We hope you save some money,
The MSE team

Important. Please read how MoneySavingExpert.com works

We think it's important you understand the strengths and limitations of this email and the site. We're a journalistic website, and aim to provide the best MoneySaving guides, tips, tools and techniques - but can't promise to be perfect, so do note you use the information at your own risk and we can't accept liability if things go wrong.

What you need to know

This info does not constitute financial advice, always do your own research on top to ensure it's right for your specific circumstances - and remember we focus on rates not service.

We don't as a general policy investigate the solvency of companies mentioned, how likely they are to go bust, but there is a risk any company can struggle and it's rarely made public until it's too late (see the Section 75 guide for protection tips).

We often link to other websites, but can't be responsible for their content.

Always remember anyone can post on the MSE forums, so it can be very different from our opinion.

Please read the Full Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policy, How This Site is Financed and Editorial Code. Martin Lewis is a registered trade mark belonging to Martin S Lewis.

More about MoneySavingExpert and Martin Lewis

What is MoneySavingExpert.com?
Founded in February 2003, it's now the UK's biggest consumer help website with more than 12 million people getting this email and about 13 million using the site every month. In September 2012 it became part of the MoneySupermarket Group PLC. Its focus is simple: saving cash and fighting for financial justice on anything and everything. The site has over 80 full time staff, more than a third of whom are editorial - researching, analysing and writing to continually find ways to save money. More info: See About MSE.

Who is Martin Lewis?
Martin set up and is chairman of MSE. He's an ultra-focused money-saving journalist and consumer campaigner with his own ITV prime-time show The Martin Lewis Money Show and weekly slots on Radio 5 Live, This Morning and Good Morning Britain, among others. He's a columnist for publications including the Telegraph, Sunday Mirror and Woman magazine. More info: See Martin Lewis' biography.

What do the links with an * mean?

Any links with an * by them are affiliated, which means get a product via this link and a contribution may be made to MoneySavingExpert.com, which helps it stay free to use. You shouldn't notice any difference; the links don't impact the products at all and the editorial line (the things we write) isn't changed due to them. If it isn't possible to get an affiliate link for the best product, it's still included in the same way. More info: See How This Site is Financed.

As we believe transparency is important, we're including the following 'un-affiliated' web-addresses for content too:

Unaffiliated web-addresses for links in this email

firstdirect.com, starlingbank.com, halifax.co.uk, uk.virginmoney.com, moneysupermarket.com, confused.com, gocompare.com, comparethemarket.com, directline.com, aviva.co.uk, admiral.com, bank.marksandspencer.com, americanexpress.com

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Note

MoneySupermarket.com Financial Group Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 303190). MoneySavingExpert.com Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales. Company Registration Number: 8021764. Registered office: One Dean Street, London, W1D 3RB. MoneySavingExpert.com Limited is an appointed representative of MoneySupermarket.com Financial Group Limited.

To change your email or stop receiving the weekly tips (unsubscribe): Go to: www.moneysavingexpert.com/tips.